Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the most versatile and ecological oxidizing agents. Hydrogen peroxide has been used as monopropellant in aerospace applications and has several advantages as a propellant: It has good long term on-orbit storage capability at near hypergolic performance and it lacks the toxicity and handling issues associated with other hypergolic propellants. It is also not carcinogenic. It is dense, storable, noncryogenic and can be more easily used to drive gas turbines to give high pressures. Hydrogen peroxide trades well as a mono- and bi-propellant due to high density. It is readily available and costs less than hydrazine.
However, hydrogen peroxide is a very aggressive propellant, and it is highly corrosive. Its utility has been limited by material incompatibility, corrosion, and degradation, poor storage stability, and decomposition. The incompatibility of hydrogen peroxide significantly escalates design complexity and costs associated with fabricating rocketry systems to support it. Only a few materials were previously known to be appropriate for long-term exposure to hydrogen peroxide, such as pure aluminum, pure zirconium, certain binary aluminum-magnesium alloys, porcelain, and fluorocarbon resins. These materials, however, are generally not suitable for aerospace applications, which require materials to withstand extreme temperatures, pressures, mechanical stress, and radiation exposure.
There is a need for materials that are compatible with hydrogen peroxide. In particular, there is a need for materials that do not corrode or degrade as a result of exposure to hydrogen peroxide and that do not catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, especially high concentration hydrogen peroxide. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.